Pastrana in a Stock Car?

Travis Pastrana, continuing his quest to live life with the throttle wide open, will put his high-octane experience behind the wheel of a dirt Late Model stock car for the first time next week, as he takes his place in the lineup of the 2010 Gillette Fusion ProGlide Prelude to the Dream.

Pastrana joins other superstars of car racing for the charity event at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio on Wednesday, June 9th, benefitting four children’s hospitals.

The Prelude to the Dream, which precedes the weekend’s annual Dirt Late Model Dream Race, was conceived by Stewart after he purchased the speedway in 2004, motivated to raise awareness and funds for various charitable organizations.

The 2010 event features a team format; drivers will still compete to be the overall champion, but they’ll also be teamed up with other drivers to represent each of the four children’s hospitals selected for the event: Cincinnati Children’s, Levine Children’s Hospital, Riley Hospital for Children and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

"I'm honored to be a part of this event." -Travis Pastrana

Each individual driver’s finishing position in the feature event will contribute to each team’s total score. The lowest team score wins, and only the top-five drivers from each team will be scored.

Pastrana will take a spot on Team Levine alongside Marcos Ambrose, Dave Blaney, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, David Reutimann and team captain Kyle Busch. Pastrana’s Red Bull teammate Brian Vickers was slated to drive for Team Riley but was forced to withdraw due to a medical condition that cut short his 2010 NASCAR season.

Always up for a new experience – as long as it involves a lot of adrenaline – Pastrana has piloted everything from a motorcycle, which he used to land the first-ever double backflip at X Games 2006, to an Open-class rally car, which he’s driven to four consecutive Rally America championship titles. This will mark his first time in a stock car, however.

“I've raced a lot of different types of cars and like every racer, I hope to do well,” Travis says. “I am the low man on the totem pole and have very little [stock car] experience, but it will be a good time and I'm honored to be a part of this event.”

Pastrana will return to the U.S. just days before the race after completing a tour of Australia with a live version of his anything-goes Nitro Circus TV show. Lack of experience – or sleep – won’t hold Travis back one bit, however; with a unique opportunity to go toe-to-toe with some of NASCAR’s best drivers, he’ll be pushing for the win as soon as he gets behind the wheel.

The sixth Annual Prelude to the Dream will be televised live on HBO Pay-Per-View from Eldora Speedway on Wednesday, June 9 (7 p.m. EDT/ 4 p.m. PDT). Speed TV will feature a live countdown show starting at 6 p.m. EDT.

Travis Pastrana is embarking on a new racing adventure this year - NASCAR. The 17-time X Games medalist and four-time Rally America champ is the driver and co-owner of the #99 Pastrana/Waltrip Boost...